We just tested Intel Panther Lake, and I’m here to tell you it’s the real deal. After years of Intel playing catch-up, this new architecture feels like a significant leap forward, offering the kind of raw performance and longevity we’ve long wanted from a Windows laptop. It's a night-and-day improvement over the already solid Lunar Lake, and shows that Intel isn't just treading water anymore.
Though Panther Lake has made great strides in performance and efficiency for the best Windows laptops, it has a mighty competitor—namely, Apple’s M5 chip. As I noted in my MacBook Pro M5 review, Apple’s silicon delivers stellar performance and phenomenal battery life. That’s not surprising, given how M-series chips have been the gold standard in those areas, but it makes for a formidable opponent for Intel to tackle.
